social

Valley Forge Park sets deer shoots after year's delay

UPDATE: FRIENDS OF ANIMALS AND CARE WILL HOLD A DEMONSTRATION AT THE PARK THIS SATURDAY, 9 October, 2-4 PM.

The permit has been approved for our group by the Park administration and the Superintendent has signed it.

Meet us in the parking lot near the bicycle rentals and restrooms. That is officially the First Amendment Zone and on Park maps it is identified as:

"Lower Welcome Center Parking Lot."

Look for the bright blue Friends of Animals banner.

IMPORTANT: Watch this space for further updates regarding forthcoming demonstrations and public education in the National Park as well as legal restraints filed for by Friends of Animals in this case.

Inquirer article follows.

Philly.com

By Jeff Gammage
Inquirer Staff Writer

Officials at Valley Forge National Historical Park say deer will be shot there starting next month, ending a yearlong delay and commencing a controversial plan to dramatically thin the herd.

An animal-rights group responded to Monday's announcement with an immediate pledge to demonstrate at the park. And an attorney said he might seek a restraining order to try to stop the shooting. Read more.

Comments

Submitted by Valley Forge Local on Tue, 2010-10-05 19:16

It's about time. I'm an animal lover but the deer in VF National Historic Park are a danger to other animals, themselves, and humans. Sharp shooters will allow for a swift and relatively painless end.

For Anne Marie Carden: Thank you for your message here. I believe I just spoke with your partner on the phone. I understand you have been photographing the deer - even observing individuals as they change and grow - and that your photos have been or are currently sold in the Park's gift shop. How sad if those individuals, whose pictures the Park's visitors love and pay to have, are under fire.
Please keep in touch with us. Thanks to you and your partner for supporting the interest of the deer in simply living and enjoying their natural lives. You can write to me at leehall[at]friendsofanimals.org

Valley Forge Park belongs to all of the citizens of this nation, not to the immediate neighbors or the valley forge staff. Many people visit the park to see the deer. Why are some people so bloodthirsty. Why do they think they are the only living creatures that matter?

"Deer" Valley Valley Forge Local,
Would you be so kind as to explain how the deer are a danger? I would be most interested in your knowledge. How are they a danger to humans? I think we are the ones who are a danger to the deer. Personally I think lack of information is dangerous. Thank you and I look forward to being educated!

The whole concept of "wildlife management"--a euphemism for domination and control--needs to be questioned here. The root of the problem here is larger than deer living in a park. And slaughtering them doesn't solve a problem; it just creates more.
We humans need to take a broader view of nature, and see ourselves, and others like deer, as an integral part of it; but we aren't the masters of nature and we should stop pretending that we are.
And as far as population is concerned, we need look no further than our own species to find one that's truly breeding out of control and wreaking havoc.

The supposedly methodical and scientific plan hatched by the federal government to practically annihilate the deer at Valley Forge NH Park is highly suspect. Once again, we have a plan designed to blame the deer. Let's stop the blame game and come clean on the deer issue. Journalist and novelist Martha Gellhorn once said, "Never believe governments, not any of them, not a word they say; keep an untrusting eye on all they do." Good, decent people must speak out on behalf of the deer. Turning our backs would make us complicit in this terrible wrong.

The deer do not pose a danger to human beings. If people are concerned about not hitting deer with their automobiles, they need to drive responsibly. There are deer near where I live and at night, when I know they are out, I proceed through those areas with caution. Driving safely is not, and should not, be considered an inconvenience, as that's how everyone who operates an automobile should be driving.
There are steps that communities that want to avoid car collisions with deer can take. Pennsylvania is not alone in wanting to avoid these accidents and residents of the state. Other states have installed the Strieter-Lite System, which can reduce automobile collisions with deer by 78-90%. Much of the cost of installing the system can be covered by federal programs.